KOB obtains letters written by man killed by APD

KOB4 has obtained letters written by Parrish Denison, the man shot and killed by APD officers following a SWAT operation Tuesday night, while he was in prison in the 1990s.

They detail some violent encounters, which contrast reports we’ve received from his family.

The family knew him as “Duke,” and they say that while he did have a criminal record, they don’t believe he was a violent person and don’t think he actually would have shot officers.

“That's not him, that's not him at all, and if he had a gun, it just makes common sense to me cause all I've heard is what I’ve heard on the news,” Denison’s mother Charlotte Ingram said. “Why did he run for twohours and have an opportunity and never shot this supposed gun, and he was running, running to get away from them?”

They take issue with the fact that a Canine Unit was sent in after Denison was shot instead of before. APD has said that they shot when they did because Denison was facing three officers with a gun in his hand. The family says they are most of all distraught they could not say goodbye.

“I would just want to say I'm sorry that they didn't get ahold of us, he died in the hospital, he didn't die right away,” Ingram said. “Nobody said a word to any of us, I wanted to be here in time to tell my dad goodbye,” Denison’s son Beau said. “Maybe I could have been here in time to tell my dad goodbye. It just, not a word was said to any of us.”

The letters themselves detail Denison joining the a group called the “Dirty Dozen,” and officials say he was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood and trying to wage a war on Hispanics within the prison.